Mophato thrills

SHARE | Monday, 23 May 2016 | By Ontametse Sugar

Mophato Dance group

The Mophato Dance theatre thrilled patrons at Molape piazza with their new offering – Pula – on Tuesday. The performers depicted the various traditions and cultures in Botswana, showing how people ask for Pula (Rain). The play blended the contemporary and the traditional way of doing things, even in the way they danced. They showed Botswana’s journey since independence in 1966, in song and dance.

They displayed the most popular traditional food for Batswana – sorghum. The dancers, who take three hours each day to physically condition themselves as per their performance requirements, rendered Setswana poetry and depicted traditional doctors. Founder and Director of Mophato Dance Theatre Andrew Lesokola said that it has been a tough journey to create Pula masterpiece play. He said it was challenging to work with so many people but they were spurred on by their will to explore and come up with something unique and great. He regretted that arts are not recognised that much in Botswana.

“I am not talking about the government only but rather the whole industry. We are limited in showing our creative ways,” he said. He said it is very difficult to do what they do without funding which denies dancers the chance of doing arts full time. “It is good but it can be better if we invested more time to it,” he said. This is the seventh production of the group and they are set to tour Europe from May 20–31, 2016. USA Ambassador to Botswana Earl Miller – a great support of the arts in Botswana – and the Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture Thapelo